Friends With Melding Benefits
by ChronicallyinFlaming
Summary: Written for mass kink meme. Shepard eventually realizes what it means in the asari culture to meld with another person. And now has to deal with what it meant to do such a thing, and why Liara is suddenly so attached to the Commander.


**The Prompt: **Sex s/he totally wasn't sure s/he wanted

_Okay, we all know Asari get it on by mind melding. Well, I'd like something with Shep learning this after the first time Liara does her whole "let me see into your mind!" thing in front of the whole crew and Shep is totally freaked out. Cause you know, what she did was totally like a blow job, or fingering, or dry humping or something (Shep is totally sure of this) and Shep is awkward and not sure how to confront his/her new stalker (because, when you think about it this way, it's totally awkward/creepy when Liara is all "I'm tired" and "You're so amazing commander" and "So strong willed!" and "We had a connection I thought!" after she's done mind raping you)._

_Bonus points if, after Shep realizes it, still hasn't confronted her by the second/third time she asked to see._

_More Bonus love if s/he is also awkward when they find the Green one in the plant (can't remember her name) Or she was first, and s/he is totally cool with Liara the first time, and then realizes they were molested twice mentally and is even more freaked._

_As an aside, I don't care the gender of the Shep. Just that s/he is awkward about it all. And this is a Crack prompt, but you can go serious business with it, or go cracky. I don't care. Just make me smile Anon!_

**The Fill:**

* * *

As with so many things sexual, John Shepard learned the horrible truth via the extranet. In the asari section. Right there. For years, it had been there.

For the months since it had happened, it had been right there.

There were comments, under the entry. Comments that voiced thoughts that hadn't even occurred to Shepard yet. 'Like getting a mental finger bang!' 'Cerebral cortexes dry humping.' 'So, do they use their boobs to distract, and go for the brains? Aliens are so weird.'

In front of so many people, that first time. And had any of them known? That would explain the comments, the looks they got when they would talk together. Probably saying stuff like, 'wish they'd saved it for the bedroom that time. Eech.'

_And _she'd been tired, that first time. That first time, when he'd been so innocent. Those compliments. The way she'd looked at him ever since, almost _longing_. Needy, for another taste of his apparently awesome mind-contact.

-And hadn't _he_ gotten an erection, from that. John had chalked that up to just a weirdness-erection that sometimes happened. Like when being afraid, or using a sniper rifle or just waking up. Nothing you'd want to talk about, but nothing too strange. Probably.

…but he'd gone after having that talk into his bedroom and jerked off vigorously. With more enthusiasm shown to his hand in months. With what he was reading about this 'bond' thing, she might have even felt that through this weird physiological connection they now had. Yep, that's what had happened, to make this even worse: he in his room masturbating while she did the same in her own. Oh, god, what if that happened every time from now? His poor life—poor Liara's life. That might cut into her research time.

If she knew, she could use that asari sex magic to make him do the same.

When Liara entered the mess, Shepard nearly choked on his dinner.

All he saw were her hands, the curiosity in her eyes, and eventually her words of: "Commander Shepard, I'm afraid I don't remember that last part. Would it be at all possible to meld with you again?" All breathy and big blue eyes.

"Sure, Liara," was his slow, cautious response that was met with a small smile and a practically girlish skip away.

A mental-spiritual hookup. Friends with melding benefits.

How could anyone with those freckles be so evil?

Was she now his stalker? Could someone be a stalker when you had invited them onto a confining small area? Shepard had been watching out for her these last couple of days, keeping track of her daily schedule and thinking about her almost non-stop. Was he the stalker? Hadn't he agreed to her request? Did he have a problem getting a spiritual blowjob? Because she seemed to like giving them. Did she even know what she was doing? The innocent act was a sham, and John was an idiot that couldn't even read those extranet links Joker had been sending him since Liara had shown up.

No, that was unfair. No, _this_ was unfair. Liara should have warned him, about what that was. Although, well, she had needed to learn that information. Still, a heads up would have been nice. At least took him for dinner, or something. Gotten him drunk and comfortable. Told him straight up, 'this is my species version of sex. Or some version of it. Prepare yourself so this isn't mind-molesting but still totally will be.'

But she hadn't. Had only acted now-suspiciously tired and informing the entire crew that her world had been rocked. Before nearly falling asleep.

He sat there for a long time, cheeks stuffed like a chipmunks with food. Lost in thought until Ashley and Tali took turns throwing things at his head to get his attention.

"What's up, skipper? What's that look about?"

"Nothing."

"Uh-oh. It wouldn't happen to be about your new little asari friend that blushes at the mention of your name?"

Alenko came out of_ nowhere_ to join in on their, "_Awwww_."

His subordinates. Except for Tali, who was just giggling at the human jokes. They knew. Fuck. They probably knew all about the mind-fingering Liara had done, right in front of everyone else. Which she might have counted on. "I hope you go easy on the poor Doc."

Peer pressure. This might all be part of her nefarious scheme to get into his bed. If so, she was working harder at that than anyone else John had ever met. But it wouldn't work, because even if she was going at his brain, his pants would stay up. So, then, Shepard would win. Yeah.

The next time had been discreet. In his room. With John trying not to sweat, afraid of what Liara might find in his head. Should he say something, that would be the smart thing, yes, ask if she knew exactly what she was doing, she was a young, inexperienced woman, and probably had never so much as mind-held-hands with anyone. She even admitted as much, when discussing melding and bondmates. The stuttering, the glances towards his face like she was gauging his reaction to every word, those were not the acts of some succubus.

That leaned in close, looking up at him. Trusting, and expecting the same.

Then.

Black eyes like something out of a horror movie, fuck, no, this was a horrible idea, no, what the fuck had he been thinking, this was horror to have his mind probed, why had he agreed, stop.

"Embrace eternity."

The vision. And them in some blue, blue haze that became the universe. Them becoming We becoming Us. Until there was only their melded forms.

"Wow."

"That was so intense." Shepard sounded drunk even to his own ears.

"Shepard. That was new."

"I guess I learned some tricks."

Thankfully, he lost consciousness, while still standing up, before he could ask if she wanted to do that again. He must have fallen over. When he woke, he was half-curled around the asari, mind an empty white with satisfaction but growing conscious of his now-filthy boxers. And that his penis didn't seem to care how inappropriate this was. They'd both passed out on his bed, and Liara's head had practically exploded out of embarrassment as she scrambled up. His nipples were still hard, and John made sure not to glance at her own.

"Shepard. John. I'm so sorry." She looked dizzy, and if circumstances were completely different, Shepard might have appreciated that. "It was very intense. That time."

"I don't know how to take that."

"Commander?"

"Nothing. Are you alright?"

Because she was looking a little weak-kneed, possibly just from lying there, or from him, still. Liara even looked like she could use a cigarette.

"Thank you, Shepard. That was very. Very informative."

Shepard practically had to carry her into her room, which would not help those rumors.

We kept our pants on, he could have told them. But it had still been a filthy thing.

Sha'ira had done that, and hadn't been all shaky and attached

…because she did that with people _all the time_. Mental blowjobs were her job.

When it came to this melding stuff, he and Liara were both virgins. Had been. Of course she might grow a little attached to her 'first,' with all that talk of connections and later, bondmates. A socially awkward virgin scientist, why wouldn't she have a soft spot for the guys that had taken her mind-virginity, because that's what happened, and if he felt weird around her, and a little soft himself, in _some _ways anyway, that was because they were two uncomfortable virgins basically mind-fumbling at each other.

Or _she'd_ been, anyway. Both on the virgin and fumbling fronts.

Fuck. That other asari. Shiala. She'd done it too.

But that was it, right? Just those two. And Liara. Even with humans, he'd never gotten so lucky in such a short amount of times with that many woman or men. It was like those jokes about joining the Alliance to meet species, human or otherwise, that liked a person in uniform. But John had only joined to help others, and explore space. Not alien sex techniques. The fucking irony.

So wrong. As were those looks Liara had been giving him since then. A crush, definitely. So strong-willed, Shepard. Claiming a connection that not even his first human actually-sex had done, when redressing and saying with a shrug that they'd see John around, maybe.

Shepard swallowed loudly in his empty room.

Well, the next time Liara wanted to see his 'vision' again, she could bring some wine and music.


End file.
